Netflix paid $150 million to air two NFL games exclusively on the streaming platform on Christmas Day and it yielded record-breaking viewing figures.

In the NBA, the Christmas lineup averaged 5.25 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, a big increase from the all-time low of 2.85 million in 2023. ABC simulcast all five games this year, whereas the broadcaster only carried two a year ago due in part to its Monday Night Football obligation.

Netflix’s first NFL Christmas Day doubleheader ended up being successful globally. The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 31.3 million while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 30 million worldwide,

Thanks to NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, Netflix said it enjoyed its "most-watched Christmas day ever" in the U.S.

The NFL will embark on a new Christmas Day tradition starting this year. Christmas Day games have been played in the past throughout the NFL, but only on special occasions.  That changes Wednesday, as the league will play Christmas Day games in the middle of the week for the first time.

According to preliminary Nielsen numbers, which don't include international viewers, this Christmas Day broke NFL all-time streaming records. Once the international viewership numbers come in, the record margin will be even higher.

LeBron James and the NBA will have to make room for the NFL on Christmas. That shouldn’t be a problem. Both leagues were winners on Wednesday.

D: As expected, Netflix boasted quite an impressive audience for its two Christmas Day NFL matchups. The Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans games, the first-ever NFL games on the streamer, put up an unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million U.